“Focus” on Jacob Argubright

“Focus” on Jacob Argubright

Jacob Argubright Ironman’s to 2nd Overall at Mint 400

Lake Elsinore, CA – The iconic Mint 400 hosted by Best in the Desert and Mad Media invited motorcycles back to the event this weekend; the first time since 1976. Off-Road Support/TBT Suspension backed privateer Jacob Argubright prepared to compete in the endurance event as an ironman, alongside a roster of top-talent teams.

Located
on the state line between California and Nevada, Argubright would have
his hands full with an 79-mile loop consisting of truck track,
vast valley crossings, sand washes, and technical trails in which he
would have to take on three times consecutively. To start the race,
riders would have to straddle the front fender of their dead engine
motorcycle, and quickly remount and start their bike once the green light was given.

Argubright
was quick to mount his KX450, jumping into the mix in a 4th overall
position going into the first turn. From there, Argubright quickly set
his sights on the leader, and the two began to set the pace. Swapping
for the lead position multiple times, Argubright eventually tucked into
second place. Coming into Pit A at mile 25, Argubright trailed the
leader by approximately 10-seconds. A quick refuel had him on his way
quickly, and the two maintained the gap as they raced towards Pit B.
With the competition not making the stop at Pit B, Argubright found
himself having to make up time after another refuel. Coming into the
Main Pit before heading out onto lap two, the leaders swapped riders,
and Argubright capitalized on closing the gap; passing the duo in the
pits.

Lap two saw an intense
battle as Argubright moved into the lead with second place now hot on
his tail. Swapping positions in a fast section, Argubright continued to
consistently challenge the leader throughout the 79-mile course. As the
riders entered the Main Pit at the end of the lap, the leader again
swapped riders before heading out onto the third and final lap.

The
abundance of lapped riders on lap three now posed a new challenge; more
dust. This became tricky for Argubright who was beginning to lose clear
sight on the leader in the first 25-miles. Coming into Pit A, the two
sat just 40-seconds apart with only 50 miles to the checkered flag.
Running out of course to catch the leader once again, Argubright closed
up the gap just slightly; claiming 2nd overall at the finish line.

Argubright exclaimed, “Today was incredible! The win would of course be much sweeter, but I believe I accomplished a great task today.
I’m so stoked on the finish. I committed myself early on, both mentally
and physically, to racing as an ironman regardless of the talent that I
would line up next to, and I think that strategy worked well. The
racing was intense and the JCR Honda
team were on it today. I would not have had the same results without
the help of my wife, parents, pit crew and sponsors. I grew up only
hearing about motorcycles racing in the Mint 400, and today I got to
race it. Thanks to Mad Media and BITD for bringing the bikes back.”